Chapter 36 One Unfortunate Request

Chapter 36: An Awkward Request

When Lady Wu and the others saw Yang Xingxian, they were like baby birds rushing back to the nest, chattering a mile a minute.

The more Yang Xingxian listened, the darker his face became.

Madam Xi! She had actually stolen the show at Daimiao Temple—and she actually knew that blasted chess puzzle?

He turned his gaze to Yang Luo, his voice strained: "You said I taught her that chess puzzle? Do I even know how to play chess?"

By the end, he was flat-out yelling, scaring the living daylights out of all the women.

Achang, sitting outside the carriage, was startled too. Oh crap, the young master's gonna be famous now—how's he supposed to face his classmates?

Yang Luo faltered: "I didn't think that far at the time. I only wanted to make a fool of her and make you look good. Who knew that Madam Xi would refuse to give me an out and back me into a corner like that? She's just infuriating."

"Fine, fine! You've got some nerve! When we get back, you and Cousin Bi Ru are going to kneel and apologize to her together. If you don't go, don't even think about leaving the house again. Mother, don't give her a single penny."

Yang Xingxian laid down the law, and Lady Wu nodded in agreement.

At the end of the day, it was all the eldest daughter's fault—she'd dragged her into this mess too.

Just thinking about the ridicule he would face gave Yang Xingxian a splitting headache.

Yang Luo was so wronged she was tearing up. It seemed that in the blink of an eye, her standing had changed dramatically.

It was all Madam Xi's fault! Not only had she embarrassed her publicly, but now her own elder brother and mother were blaming her too.

Yang Yao was still shaken—good thing she wasn't the one who'd started this mess...

As soon as Lady Wu and the others returned to the residence, Xi Qianyue received the news.

"Eldest Young Madam, the ladies have finally returned to the mansion. You should've seen the state they were in! Their hair was a total mess from the mountain wind, their shoes were falling apart and caked in dirt. They looked completely wiped out—they didn't even eat, just crashed."

The maidservant's description was vivid, and Xi Qianyue was tickled pink hearing this.

An hour later, Yang Luo and Bi Ru asked to see her.

Xi Qianyue looked at the two awkward, hesitant figures before her: "What's so important that you needed to see me?"

Yang Luo and Bi Ru exchanged a glance, as if bracing themselves, then knelt down together.

"Big Sister-in-Law, we were in the wrong that day. We pushed you into the pond. But I swear, I never wanted you dead—I just wanted to give you a scare..."

"Just to scare me? Wasn't it about holding my head down and bashing it against the rocks at the bottom of the lake?"

Yang Luo waved her hands like crazy: "That was the maid's own idea—I had nothing to do with it."

Yicui's face went white as a sheet. She had clearly acted on the young lady's orders—why was she now claiming it was her own initiative?

Xi Qianyue's eyes sliced through them like knives, then turned to Yicui, who looked like she was about to keel over: "So it was your own idea to want me dead?"

Yicui was so scared she almost fell over: "No, no, no... Yes, yes, yes... it was me."

She wanted to deny it, but Yang Luo shot her a menacing glare, and she quickly changed her answer.

"You're a good maidservant. How about I treat you to a show?"

Xi Qianyue gave a sly, half-smile. Yicui knew she was in trouble, but she couldn't refuse—she could only nod.

"Since the two of you keep pointing fingers at each other, then whoever instigated this is the mastermind. I won't go easy on the mastermind, but the accomplice I might let off lighter."

Yang Luo quickly pointed at Bi Ru: "It was her! She was the one who instigated me."

Bi Ru had already tasted Xi Qianyue's ruthlessness and naturally dared not admit it. She pointed back at Yang Luo: "It was clearly you! Luo, you said Big Sister-in-Law was a merchant's daughter who brought shame to your family. You were the one who instigated me!"

"Bi Ru! Don't you try to weasel out of it! You said Big Sister-in-Law was standing in your way—that you could have been my sister-in-law if she hadn't stolen your spot..."

The two went at it hot and heavy, faces red as tomatoes.

Yicui stood there in a daze. Was this the "good show" the Eldest Young Madam had mentioned?

Soon, she realized she'd still underestimated the Eldest Young Madam...

Xi Qianyue sneered: "Slap each other ten times across the face in front of me, and this matter will be settled."

The two knelt facing each other, looking at one another, neither making a move.

"Not doing it? If you won't, then I'll have my maidservants do it."

At the thought of those burly, eager maidservants, Yang Luo gritted her teeth and delivered a slap.

Bi Ru took the blow—it was not light, snapping her head to the side.

The more she thought about it, the more wronged she felt. Because of this matter, she had been slapped several times in the street, humiliated in public, then confined to her room and made to kneel in the ancestral hall upon returning home.

And now, she was forced to kneel here again! And be beaten!

Yang Luo was startled by the fierce glare Bi Ru shot at her, and before she could brace herself, she received a heavy slap across the face.

"You hit me that hard?"

Yang Luo let out a strange shriek and swung back, the sound of the slap crisp and sharp.

Needless to say, the two escalated quickly. A flurry of "crack, crack, crack" sounded as they exchanged ten slaps, and still they didn't stop. Soon both were battered and swollen, looking like a pair of pig heads.

Yicui and Bi Ru's maidservant Hongdou stared in shock. When they looked at Xi Qianyue, who was clearly amused, they finally understood what she had meant by "a good show."

The two maidservants snapped back to their senses and rushed forward to pull their respective mistresses apart, finally putting an end to the battle.

"Yang Luo, you fool! I'm never playing with you again!"

"Bi Ru, from this day forth, we are sworn enemies—our friendship is over!"

After hurling their threats, they both looked at Xi Qianyue: "Is this matter settled now?"

"This matter is settled, but don't think for a moment that I've let go of all grudges and can be good sisters-in-law with you now. From now on, when you see me, walk the other way. Otherwise, don't blame me for being merciless."

The two were taken aback, but they knew full well that this Madam Xi was not so easily appeased.

In any case, the matter was finally over. Though they now looked like pig heads, at least they would no longer be scolded by the elders at home over this affair, nor would they have to live in constant fear of Xi Qianyue seeking some grand revenge.

Their faces hurt, but their hearts were at ease.

The two shot each other one last fierce glare and left, covering their faces with their maidservants in tow.

Xi Qianyue looked at the maidservants who were all suppressing their laughter and smiled: "Go ahead and laugh—they're gone now."

"Eldest Young Madam, what you did was so satisfying."

Qing Bi was all for the Grand Lady giving them a harsh beating, and she was even happier that it was done without her having to lift a finger, leaving them with faces swollen like pig heads.

Qing Rong and the others saw that the Grand Lady had been raising hell these past few days without any serious consequences, so they were no longer as tense as before.

Was this household really now under the Grand Lady's thumb?

Before long, Yang Xingxian arrived.

This time, he made it into Xi Qianyue's courtyard without a hitch, a smile still on his face: "I made my elder sister and Cousin Bi come kneel and apologize to you. Are you satisfied now?"

"Quite satisfied."

Achang breathed a sigh of relief. He knew damn well the Grand Lady was a force to be reckoned with—she had actually made the lady and the two young misses walk five or six miles of mountain paths!

Yang Xingxian said amiably, "I've heard about today's events. You need not take them to heart. However, your husband has a small favor to ask."